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Question: Is it better to recruit/hire Admissions Reps from other schools or train someone from scratch?Gregg Meiklejohn Enrollment Resources Inc May 2014

Discussion Threads from Enrollment Resources



I have had a question on my mind for a while now, one that my Admissions clients constantly wrestle with and sometimes even keeps them up at night.

How do I recruit for Admissions roles? It is a crucial role within an organization. Success or failure of a School can ride on the fortunes of the Admissions team. It can be very difficult to find that nurturing personality who is also competitive and business like.

I thought I would throw this question out there to my colleagues on Linkedin Discussion Groups. The conversations were constructive and insightful, so much so, we decided that the information had to be organized for posterity. We contacted those on the thread and they said, ‘hey Gregg go for it!’, organize an e-book.

I posted the following question on several EDU discussion groups;

Admissions Reps: Is it better to hire from within or recruit from another school?

The difference between a mediocre and rock star Admissions Rep can be significant. Unlike any other position within your school, this variation in admissions skills translates directly to your school’s bottom line.

Is it better to headhunt/hire from a competing organization? Or is it better to hire and train a graduate from your school to be a new admission rep? Please let me know your thoughts on the matter!

We’ve had several EDU leaders weigh in with keen insights and observations, and in the next few pages you get to learn from some of the best in higher education. Opinions seem split down the middle, but there appears to be a common theme, good listening skills, a great nurturing attitude can often trump sales skills.

Enjoy the threads.

Gregg Meiklejohn,Co-founder and CEO, Enrollment Resources Inc.



Admissions Reps: Is it better to hire from within or recruit from another school?The difference between a mediocre and rock star Admissions Rep can be significant. Unlike any other position within your school, this variation in admissions skills translates directly to your school’s bottom line.


Gregg, my preference has always been focusing first on the personality traits that can best engage your prospective students. Finding an internal candidate with those traits is even better, but an internal candidate without those traits would not suffice. It is easier to train someone with the right personality on the other aspects of the position than it is teaching someone to behave in a way that is not natural and instinctive to her or his behavior.

Great question to pose for the group.

Higher Education Public Relations and Marketing Group

Mickey Baines President & Founding Partner, Fourth Dimension Partners.

Higher Education Marketing and Enrollment Consultant



Thanks! What are the key personality traits in your opinion?

Sure thing, Gregg. Here are a few: 1. Empathy is critical. Being able to see your prospective students from their situation, and understand how that is impacting the way they are thinking is terribly important.

2. Finding the person that is uninhibited is also important. I like to see self-starters on my team because I understand my personality and to-do list. Having someone that takes initiative on their own without being reminded of it is important. One of the best examples occurs during the training of their new position. When they come across a question they don’t know the answer to, rather than waiting to track me down to ask, I like to see they picked up the phone, or stopped by the office of the person who has the direct answer. Then when we met, they can share with me what their question was and how they got the answer.

3. Given that this is admissions, I like to see staff members understanding that this process is one form of sales. We may not like referring to our work in that way, but in reality it is. If someone is too “anti-sales”, it takes much more time getting them on-board with the follow-up that is required to help engage and convert inquiries into applicants, and applicants into students.

4. Finally, I like to find great listeners. What so many people lose in the admission process is the amount of information we (the admission counselor and institution as a whole) share with our prospects. When you sit with a prospect, it is our time to learn from them. Those conversations should be at minimum 50/50, meaning the admission counselor speaks for no more than 50% of the time together. When the counselor encounters a very quiet and

Gregg Meiklejohn Co-founder Enrollment Resources Inc.

Mickey Baines President & Founding Partner, Fourth Dimension Partners.

Higher Education Marketing and Enrollment Consultant



reserved prospect, then we should be using our skills to connect and build the needed trust that draws them out. If someone isn’t a good listener, they won’t draw that student out, but will instead dominate the conversation. And research has found that when a person dominates the conversation, they leave thinking much more highly of the value and effectiveness of the conversation than the other person did. In this type of situation, this counselor may not understand enough of the prospect to assess their fit, or the prospects level of interest in the institution.



Higher Education Management



Ian Little Owner at CDB Solutions

From an international recruitment perspective unless you are able to attract a proven professional with international experience, I would choose the graduate with the institutional DNA. Specifically, I’d prefer a graduate who is already an employee and I’d first look at the Career Center, if one is there. A graduate who is already working in a position like this likely has contacts all over campus, knows intimate details that can be sell points, and will have a professional demeanor since they are normally dealing with the local business community. I’d prefer the graduate because when they are on the road, talking with parents, students, agents, government representatives, and counselors, they will likely stay positive and charged for a longer time. There are so many international recruiters out there that burn out quickly by travel fatigue and or random questions that you want someone whose passion for the product keeps them focused and upbeat.

For another time: what about the manager’s attitude towards managing one or the other and do they default to “this is the way we do things around here” for “outsiders”.



Gregg Meiklejohn Co-founder Enrollment Resources Inc.

That’s a good point....do managers have the patience to develop this talent in an effective way. I think of the analogy of pulling carrots out of the garden to see how they’re growing...

Obi Ude, MSEd Educator, Counselor, Project Manager, Education Activist, Event

Planner

Recruit from another school .... It brings fresh ideas about practices that aren’t part of the current culture ... Hiring from within I believe won’t be of much use seeing that the information will just be recycled and no new ideas will be coming forth to the department for potential growth.

Martin IsaacsPrivate Career College - Admission’s Training Expert

Good point Gregg........many years ago the large chain of private career colleges I worked with (in Canada and some in the USA) would let me take my time and really train and develop all the new reps........those days are gone........toast.........history...........most of the schools now just hire “kids” and give them a training guide (if they have one) and toss them in an office and expect results.............the turn over is ridiculous and it is costing them HUGE in the long run..............what a shame!!!!!!! Anyhoot.......that’s my take!!!!!



Robert Ferrell Albany Campus-Director of Admissions at Bryant & Stratton College

I literally do not like hiring from potential competitors. I have found they bring many more bad habits than good ones. I end up spending more time retraining than when I try to develop from scratch.

The conundrum that we all face is exactly what Martin pointed out; we need people up and running as soon as possible. I can only speak for my own circumstances, but I will always exert the extra effort to find and develop the potential next rep from within. Hiring from within has cultivated some very good admissions people, (and of course the cost savings in hiring, socialization and training are nice benefits too).

In theory it sounds better to hire from within but in my experience I prefer the best candidate over internal.

Paul SileikaProgram Facilitator, First Year and Common Engineering at Ryerson

University

I agree with Paul, hiring the best candidate for the job is the way to go.

Robert Adkins Director of Admission at Washington & Jefferson College



Gregg - I always found it better to hire someone brand new to the industry. There is no guarantee that a successful rep at another company or institution will be successful in your setting and more often than not brings bad habits with them. The hire does not need to be a graduate either as often they know so much about the school that they do not stop talking enough to focus on the needs of the prospective student..

When you hire someone new to the industry you can look for the personality traits and experience that you know make a good representative. You can train without bad habits. Traits to look for in a good hire include: 1. A need to make a difference in people’s lives, far more important than extensive sales experience 2. A willingness to guide people who need direction, not someone who is comfortable presenting information and laying back for a decision to be made - be active 3. Experience in relationship building more than sales in a previous job 4. A strong work ethic...history of working fifty hours a week or overtime or two jobs 5. Strong ethics - specific situational questions in the interview 6. Some sales aspect in a previous job is helpful 7. The ability to self-manage and self-motivate with specific situational questions in the interview 8. Not afraid of the telephone or working a schedule not 9 to 5, after an extensive discussion in the interview of the good, bad and ugly of the job.

The Director of Admissions should be the primary trainer in the first week of training to set up you r rapport and get the training off the right way. You can schedule interludes each day where someone else helps to free up one or two hours...but making that commitment pays off. I have had brand new reps be fully contributing within a month when others are satisfies with three months.

Jeff MarcusSenior Level Higher Education Professional/Consultant in Admis-

sions and Marketing; Sales/Marketing in Other Industries



Admissions University



Wendi OliveiraCorporate Director of Admissions at San Joaquin Valley College

There are pros and cons to both in my experience. Reps from competitors bring no guarantee of adaptability or success in a new setting, they also often bring with them baggage that can be difficult to overcome. Hiring a graduate has some strong positives, but typically requires time and effort to build into a solid rep. When hiring, use all sources available and make the best decision based on your available pool, then train, coach and develop what the candidate brings. There is no magic!

Jeff MarcusSenior Level Higher Education Professional/Consultant in Admis-

sions and Marketing; Sales/Marketing in Other Industries

Gregg - I always found it better to hire someone brand new to the industry. There is no guarantee that a successful rep at another company or institution will be successful in your setting and more often than not brings bad habits with them. The hire does not need to be a graduate either as often they know so much about the school that they do not stop talking enough to focus on the needs of the prospective student..



When you hire someone new to the industry you can look for the personality traits and experience that you know make a good representative. You can train without bad habits. Traits to look for in a good hire include: 1. A need to make a difference in people’s lives, far more important than extensive sales experience 2. A willingness to guide people who need direction, not someone who is comfortable presenting information and laying back for a decision to be made - be active 3. Experience in relationship building more than sales in a previous job 4. A strong work ethic...history of working fifty hours a week or overtime or two jobs 5. Strong ethics - specific situational questions in the interview 6. Some sales aspect in a previous job is helpful 7. The ability to self-manage and self-motivate with specific situational questions in the interview 8. Not afraid of the telephone or working a schedule not 9 to 5, after an extensive discussion in the interview of the good, bad and ugly of the job.

The Director of Admissions should be the primary trainer in the first week of training to set up you r rapport and get the training off the right way. You can schedule interludes each day where someone else helps to free up one or two hours...but making that commitment pays off. I have had brand new reps be fully contributing within a month when others are satisfies with three months.

Jay CialoneDirector of Enrollment at Long Island Business Institute

There are pros and cons to both in my experience. Reps from competitors bring no guarantee of adaptability or success in a new setting, they also often bring with them baggage that can be difficult to overcome. Hiring a graduate has some strong positives, but typically requires time and effort to build into a solid rep. When hiring, use all sources available and make the best decision based on your available pool, then train, coach and develop what the candidate brings. There is no magic!



Gregg MeiklejohnCo-founder Enrollment Resources Inc.

How does all of this fold in with many schools insistence that reps make a slug of outbound calls a day. That is a completely different skillset than Jeff ’s excellent list.

Jay CialoneDirector of Enrollment at Long Island Business Institute

Gregg - I see this as schools going back to the numbers game. I’m not convinced that this is the best way. I think Deans/Directors/VP’s need to focus on what works at their institution as far as the methods of reaching the students that are most likely to apply/enroll. Just making blanket phone calls to prospects doesn’t work. It also is a drain on the time your admission reps have to do more profitable tasks.

Making all these blanket calls is another way that schools try to maximize all their leads, particularly since it is expensive to generate them. I think concentrating on contacting leads in an ordered way yields better results. This will be different for every institution. I’ve also seen consultants at schools pull all the counselors off the road for a full semester and just make calls. I don’t agree with this philosophy at all. It robs our other constituents of face time with our reps. Last, our leads/prospects are telling us how they want to be communicated with. We are seeing the vast majority preferring texts and email to phone calls. It’s less personal but I think we also need to be sensitive to what our prospects need.

Jim Haga Executive Search: www.jamesdhaga.com

How does all of this fold in with many schools insistence that reps make a slug of outbound calls a day. That is a completely different skillset than Jeff ’s excellent list.




I’m curious Jim, why is that....?

Peter Della-Luna, MBAAdmissions Coordinator at Hodges University

I always have believed that promotion from within is the best way to gain long lasting loyalty and effort. It does multiple things, first off it shows your current employees that hard work can result in promotions and success, it also helps them to buy into the idea that their employer cares about them and has their career in mind. I am curious as to why Jim doesn’t like to hire from other schools as well?

Ken Boutelle Vice President, Enrollment Services

It’s a hit or miss. I believe you look for attitude. You can train skill. Industry experience can help or hurt. It all depends on attitude and their ability and desire to learn.

Jim Haga Executive Search: www.jamesdhaga.com

Gregg, I find it is easier to train a new sales person instead of retraining the admissions rep from another college. Now, I’ve hired that one experienced senior rep occasionally from another college/university and built a new sales team around that person.



Inside Higher Ed -- The New Conversation



Adina M. LavDirector, Enrollment Management, School of Engineering & Applied

Science at George Washington University

I love this question. I think *ideally* from within is better. But there are a lot of reasons that might not work. Whether you’re hiring from within or the outside, an intensive orientation period and a long-term professional development is critical. I think recruiters need to spend about 20% of their time on campus visiting offices, programs, sitting in classes, learning about research initiatives, taking to current students they’ve recruited in the past etc. This has to be an on-going, iterative process where recruiters learn more about the university, but they also take a deeper dive into particular areas of the university. This gives them stories to tell, it makes it personal, it gets them excited about what they’re offering to prospective students.


Those are great insights...many schools just throw the reps out there because they simply can’t afford to float the expense. This is such a unique skillset within a school environment. And of course if the rep or recruiter is not effective at the art of persuasion, where are their outcomes?



Timothy Williams Board Member at National Association of Equine Affilitated Academics, Inc.

It is a great question. Regardless of the make-up of the staff, I echo the on-going education of both grads and non-grads. Just because an individual graduated from that school doesn’t mean they really “know” each facet of the institution.

My cop-out opinion to the original question is that each situation is unique. A good mix of both internal grads and those from other schools can work together to develop a very powerful team. The energy and true “real” experience of a graduate validates the educational journey that prospective families are observing. They notice if you do hire your graduates. At the other end of the spectrum, those individuals from other schools add an alternative dimension and can provide a different type of story. I found over the years that individuals who really like what they were doing trumped where they went to college.

I can still remember a school where I was fortunate enough to have a unique staff (both grads and non-grads) with a wide array of talents, abilities and personality traits. The irony was that when I would go into the cafeteria, most of the time, I could tell which student was “recruited” by which person in our office…those traits translated to many of those students who enrolled. We had a successful operation and most importantly, the students were happy in the environ-ment. They didn’t all have to fit into one mold…and neither did the admission staff.

Bill RobinsNew Student Recruiter and Adjunct Professor

I think a lot depends on the school, its programs, student demographics and how important targets are to the process. For some institutions, an intimate knowledge of the school, its programs and its faculty can be a real plus. In other situations, the programs may be easy to explain but other skills are required to work with prospective students (and their parents). But, in the final analysis, its the skills of the recruiter that are essential to be successful, getting a graduate might simply be the icing on the cake.




It’s interesting to me. Not many schools actually look to hire professionally trained counselor sales reps from other industries, nor do many schools hire reps with Business to Business sales skills (nurturing referrals from employers as an example)

The skill set of counselor selling is so crucial, does it get developed or do you find an excellent sales rep and build their product knowledge?


How big of a factor is budget/salary for these positions and potential perception of entry-level...

Christian DiGregorioDirector of University Admissions at Marywood University

I’ve had success with grads and non-grads. It’s ideal to have someone who took the classes, participated in the clubs and organization, stayed in the residence hall and ate the food. With that said, sometimes you come across someone with that special skill set but graduated from another institution. I have had success in hiring former pharmaceutical reps (that were willing to take a huge cut in pay). Salary is a huge factor in attracting talent and getting admission reps to stay. Too many institutions consider it entry level, offer compensation at the lower end of the pay scale, yet are tuition dependent for revenue.




Private institutions have always depended on tuition to support operations and as states defund the public colleges, they are more and more dependent on tuition. And, yet, as was pointed out, low pay, entry level. Similar “sales” jobs in the private sector pay much more. But, truth be told, have much more demands and stress.

Gary BixlerExecutive Enrollment Specialist for Concordia Portland Online

In higher education, we should take more of our own advice and open ourselves up to other sources of learning in this area of sales and marketing and product branding and positioning. After all, we preach research, and inclusiveness and open-minded attitudes. Let’s practice it by reaching out and learning what works in other economic segments. We can choose the best practices we find. The following comes from my own research over the years.

Gregg, I believe that excellent sales people, and by that I mean people who sell any quality product or idea with integrity, building relationships, building large referral databases from satisfied customers, and having a reputation with everyone as being great to work with, can make wonderful admissions and enrollment people.

Profit or non-profit, private or public, it doesn’t matter. We’re all selling, including every professor trying to sell an idea or a fact. And just as in business, if they aren’t buying, we’re dying.

That’s the story of every business or college in trouble. At some point they lost touch with their public, and the results are disastrous, whether you run a restaurant or a university.

Any really good salesperson (please remember my definition above) can master the art of matching student to school/program/requirements/ by great listening skills, and learning the



product. Where we might be able to help education is in the application and training of these higher skills with admissions and enrollment people. I love education and learning, yet feel sometimes that education doesn’t love “outsiders” who bring new ideas and fresh air into the conversation, that many times might deserve more con-sideration that they get.


Yes and yes. But a pure selling personality will generally not be a good counselor. Any experienced rep can learn a new product. But it’s the listening skills you want in a counselor; not simply the ability to close; and the ability to say, there are better matches for certain candidates at other schools.

Jennifer SparrowIndependent College Counselor at JSS College Counseling

With an increase in the number of regionally-based recruiters, those hiring need to consider the different skill sets needed for on-campus reps versus those who manage a territory from their home offices. (California, the greater Chicago-area and I believe Minnesota all have professional organizations just for regional reps.) I suspect that more regional reps do switch from institution to institution because they are sought out for their knowledge of the territory and high school counselor network. Representatives who are campus-based are less likely to switch institutions - except when they’re ready to make a move upwards.

I agree, admission recruiters not only need to be able to convey the full personality of the campus but also to be a counselor and really listen to what the student wants. To have the ability to say when it is not a good fit but send the student/parent away from the table more informed.




I totally agree. Great salesmanship is great listening, at a higher level than I’ve seen practiced most places, whether business or education. That means being a counselor, therapist, consultant, educator, friend, confidante. It means “listening between the lines” and hearing what the student may not even realize they are saying, and helping them find their highest and best. We find that most incoming graduate students don’t really have a clear understanding of what they want or need, and that’s where the sophisticated, probing, in-depth conversational and listening skills come in. They are good teachers, but don’t have the “bird’s eye view” of potential educational futures that we are able to provide. The same conversations are needed, whether its engineering, science, technology, administration, technology, medicine, health fields, or any other discipline.

These good traits hold true whether you’re working with your teenager on behavior skills, or coaching a sports team, or training on the factory floor, or trying to find the best path for a new incoming college student.

In the end, great sales practices are mostly just great listening skills, coupled with a deep understanding of the product, so that we can advise accurately whether what we have fits the student, or doesn’t. And the great feeling is having that “fit” continue all the way to graduation, and to be proven right in what you have recommended! I have that privilege about 92% of the time, as that is our graduation and retention rate. Not quite perfect, but excitingly close.

I’d love to hear more about how these things are presented from ground campus perspective. Or how they are viewed by those in position there.


Bill I think your definition of a Sales Personality might run from a 20th Century context. As to Gary’s point, Sales personalities recruited now are actually analytical, stay in the question,



quite types who present disruptive environments for prospects to work in, than the relationship first business second kind of model.

What’s interesting to me is a best practice Rep often conflicts with an ‘asses in classes’ corporate culture.

I do think that no matter where the rep comes from the prevalent trait needs to be a true desire to see people get ahead in life....


Love the “asses in classes” comment. So true about some of our educational institutions. But a new day is coming if we apply what you also said, Gregg. Having that “true desire to see people get ahead in life.” That’s what it’s all about, whether the student is an incoming freshman to a traditional ground campus Bachelor’s program, or an older career-switcher who is trying to start up something new for themselves. It’s all about them. Not about us.

So how important is that original question? The “who” question becomes all important. Not so much “where did you come from”? but “who are you and how do you treat people as part of your sales process?” It’s good people we need, who care about other people, and are intuitive enough to do consultative assessment of needs and goals, finding their right match.


So while the conversation has evolved to a place I think most would expect—the most successful hire would be able to do it all…even allowing multiple definitions of what “all” would mean…I will go back to a question that I posed ten days ago…”How big of a factor is budget/salary for these positions and the potential perception of entry-level?”



I totally agree with most of the various traits for the position. My experience, unless it has changed dramatically from when I was in the trenches, hasn’t been that institutions will embrace the financial commitment required to attract and retain that level of professionalism and expertise.

Rock star enrollment programs will consist of the right combination of adaptable and passionate individuals who are learning the “business” within a strong mentoring program and who are led by professionals who know how to maximize individual performances…


Ouch! While I agree certain dimensions have morphed (see recent HBR article or rebuilding your sales force), quota, objectives, strategic buying relationships and the age old ability to handle a “no” are still key traits you get from the corporate sales world. Those are trained, measured and corrected ... and hard to unwind; buyer beware.



Improving your Admissions processes is the place where you can find hundreds of thousands (even millions) of dollars of revenue in wasted opportunity.How much are you leaving on the table? You need to get the very most from your existing resources.

That means before you spend more money on Call Centres and expensive Admissions Reps, you get the most out of your current budget; before hiring more people, you get your current staff working on the highest value activities; and before working longer hours, you make the best use of the time you spend working.

Make sense?

We’d like to introduce you to a business process that will enable you to get more out of your existing resources and help you find hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost opportunity.

It’s called the “Enrollment Management Scorecard” (EMScorecard™). There is nothing else like it in the education field. We invented it and are happy to share it with you.

The EMScorecard™ is a best-practices business scanning tool, designed to uncover areas of untapped potential in your school — the money that you are “leaving on the table” through failings in your Enrollment Management processes. Using the EMScorecard, we help you find and focus on proven methods of increasing enrollment, revenue and/or profit margins without spending more on advertising or staff.

We’ve found clients literally millions of dollars in untapped opportunity that they had no idea was slipping through the cracks.



Profit Killers

The EMScorecard™ shows school owners and senior managers how to find the money that is sitting fallow in their businesses, overlooked due to seemingly small profit-killing actions.

What are profit killers?

• Marketing money wasted because the ‘first point of contact’ activities are sporadic, causing leads to be ‘flushed’ before Admissions Reps can even help prospective students.

• Admissions systems that work against the best interest of your school and admissions staff

• Too much time spent refining things you already do well, while ignoring new opportunities that could lead to a quantum leap in performance improvement

• Ignoring the small oversights that, if fixed, can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your revenue

How the EMScorecard Works

The EMScorecard™ process is delivered by a Performance Improvement Coach using a virtual boardroom. Your management and key staff are invited to participate in weekly meetings. During these sessions we:

• Conduct a thorough review of your current marketing, admissions and/or retention efforts to benchmark you against Industry Best Practices

• Identify Admissions tactics and analyze the Return on Investment for each. Identify operational blockages that prevent the implementation of good ideas and filter out tactics with those blockages.

• Review and implement tested admissions systems designed to increase lead-to-start conversions



• Conduct additional research such as Mystery Shopping and risk assessment to support or refute the findings uncovered in the process

Through the process, you will gain a thorough analysis and a detailed action plan to achieve improvements in your school. You will be able to identify where you are strong, where you need improvement and precisely how you can capture lost revenue and profit.

Our approach is ideal for Directors, VPs and Owners responsible for Admissions who want to create an immediate lift in revenue without having to hire additional staff or buy more advertising.

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